Tourists who volunteered for the event came from various countries, including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong etc.

The world record attempt at Taipei Arena, Taiwan (Image from Huaxia)

The attempt was organised by Taiwan Tourism Bureau to promote health tourism Reflexology is a popular practice in Taiwan for relaxation and improving general health; the activity is gaining popularity among foreign tourists in recent years.

There were no previous attempts made on this category; Guinness have set the requirement to have at least 400 participants with treatment for at least five minutes on each foot… which were met by the folks without much sweat.

World record for simultaneous foot massage

Wonder Girls’ Generation - Kissing You, Tell Me

The Chaser is directed by Na Hong-jin and starred Kim Yoon-suk, Ha Jung-woo and Seo Yeong-hee etc. The movie is said to be based on a real serial killer, Yoo Young-chul, who murdered 20 person in 2003/2004. While the background of the story seems similar, the storyline itself is pretty much independent from the real incident…

The Chaser synopsis

The story revolves an ex-cop turn pimp who tries to save a friend/employee from a serial killer while time is running out.

Jung-ho (Kim Yoon-suk) is a pimp who was hunting for his disappearing girls, which he thought to be stolen/hired by other syndicates. He sent Mi-jin (Seo Yeong-hee) to trap a customer which he thought is working against him, because his last two girls have been missing since serving this guy.

Jung-ho however lost contact with Mi-jin after the customer brought her into a house; and it’s soon revealed that the customer is a serial killer (Ha Jung-woo)…

I will leave the rest as it is to avoid spoilers. The plot is quite different than most other suspense movies, as the killer is revealed pretty early… but yet, the movie is full of twists and surprises. Suspense is not the only selling point though, it’s a bit horrifying, a bit provocative, a bit sad, a bit warmth and overall a nice film.

The only downside I can think of is that the movie is a bit long… a full two hours. It could be better if they cut off a few scenes, just to make the movie more compact. Regardless, it’s a great movie worth recommending.

It’s reported that Warner Bros has acquired the remake rights, with Leornado DiCaprio in mind to play one of the lead roles (would love to see him playing the killer). If they can make it at least as decent at the originals, it’s almost guaranteed to be a big hit next summer.

Review: The Chaser (2008)

Ji Sung, Park Yong-ha, Kang Ji-hwan, Jung Joon-ho and Kim Ji-suk

Most popular male characters

1. Lee Eun-sung in “New Heart”, played by Ji Sung
2. Lee Kyung-min in “On Air”, by Park Yong-ha
3. Hong Gildong in “Hong Gil-dong”, by Kang Ji-hwan
4. Song Jae-bin in “Last Scandal”, by Jung Joon-ho
5. Kang Baek-ho in “Likeable or Not”, by Kim Ji-suk

Han Ji-min, Sung Yoona, Kim Ha-neul, Choi Jin-shil and Sung Yuri

Most popular female characters

1. Song Yeon in “Yi San”, by Han Ji-min
2. Seo Young-eun in “On Air”, by Sung Yoona
3. Oh Seung-ah in “On Air”, by Kim Ha-neul
4. Hong Sun-hee in “Last Scandal”, by Choi Jin-shil
5. Yi Nok in “Hong Gil Dong”, by Sung Yuri

Most popular K-drama characters in 2008 thus far

Gillian back from Hollywood

The 27-year-old actress and pop singer was in US to audition for a role in movie “Pinkville”, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Bruce Willis. The movie is based on My Lai Massacre, a real event in which several hundred Vietnamese civilians were killed by US soldiers during the Vietnam War in 1972.

It’s reported that Oliver Stone invited Gillian to the audition for a supporting role in the movie.

The Edison sex photos scandal

The scandal started in early 2008 when hundreds of nude (and semi-nude) photos of Chinese-Canadian star Edison Chen and other female artists were posted online; Gillian was among them.

It’s believed that the photos were stolen from Edison’s personal computer when he sent it for repair. Although Edison and Gillian (and other girls) are basically victims of the incident, their public reputation is heavily dented.

Gillian in particular has been heavily hit. She was previously seen as a role model for her healthy image, but it vanished completely after the saga; and she finds it difficult to make her career comeback in Hong Kong since then.

Gillian Chung trying her luck in Hollywood

AKB48 supposedly consist of 48 female member, divided into three groups (A, K and B) with 16 members each. The number is rarely precise though; they debuted in 2006 with 20 members and at one point with 53 members… at the moment they have 44-45 members.

Sakura no Hanabira Tachi was AKB48’s first single, expressing the nostalgia of high school memories during the school graduation. The above video is actually a remake in 2008; below is the 2006 version during their debut…

PV: AKB48 - Sakura no Hanabira Tachi

Run’A circuit mate Miho Miyazaka

Epson Nakajima race queens Satomi Takahashi and Aiko Suzuki

JLOC Dechau Girls race queen Rioka

Eneos race queen Yukari Amano

Team Mach race queens Airi Nagasaku and Rika Ootsuka

Houzan’s Cosmos Circut Ladies Aiko Hirayama and Keiko Ohno

Hankook Ladies Aki Kogure and Maki Kobayashi

Uematsu Lady’s Rina Ito (centre)

Super GT Sepang 2008 - race queens (2)

Saw this from Jamie, couldn’t resist using it lol. Download full size (1600×1200) here.

Kona-chan laptop wallpaper